MANKATO, Minn. -- Adrian Peterson wanted to be on the field on Friday, but the Minnesota Vikings told him he'll have to wait at least a little longer.

As planned, the Vikings placed Peterson on the active/physically unable to perform list, giving their star halfback further time to recover from the major knee surgery he underwent less than seven months ago.

"We think that's the best thing to do for right now," coach Leslie Frazier said of Peterson, who tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee on Dec. 24 at Washington and had surgery six days later.

"We'll continue to evaluate him daily, see how he's progressing, and at some point, the doctors and our head trainer Eric Sugarman will come to me and say, 'Hey, we think he's ready to get involved in some team activities.' But at this point, we're going to go through some evaluations, just make a determination as to when is the right time to put him out there with his teammates."

Two NFL sources told 1500ESPN.com on Thursday morning the Vikings planned to make the long-anticipated move. But Frazier said he planned to meet with Peterson about the plan before finalizing anything, and Peterson told reporters he intended to fight the designation.

"He put up a fight. He did," Frazier said. "Knowing Adrian like you guys do, he wanted to make sure -- 'Coach, don't hold me back. Let me get out there.'

"He wants to get out there, but we've got to be smart. We need to see him do a few things and then make a determination. But if he had his way, he'd be getting involved (Friday)."

Placing Peterson on active/PUP gives the Vikings flexibility in case of a setback, too. Once a player participates in a single training camp practice, he's ineligible for the reserve/PUP list, which would sideline him for at least the regular season's first six weeks.

The Vikings believe Peterson will be ready sooner than that and consistently have said it's a goal to have him on the field against Jacksonville for the opener on Sept. 9.

Two more deactivated

Also Friday, the Vikings placed two players, tight end Mickey Shuler and receiver Stephen Burton, on the active/non-football injury list.

Shuler is considered day to day with a heel injury he suffered a couple of weeks ago, Frazier said.

"The X-rays that we took and the MRI were all negative," Frazier said. "There were no issues there. But we want to be able to get past the pain so we can get him involved."

Burton also will go through activities on the side as the toe he jammed about a week ago heals, Frazier said.

It's just the latest ailment for a player who had a bad hamstring in camp last year, suffered a season-ending knee injury in December and was one of the offseason's stars before catching pneumonia.

"He's a young guy, so it's hard to draw conclusions at this point in his career." Frazier said. "So, we'll see how he progresses and hopefully, this toe will evolve and get better shortly."